Hey Diddle Diddle, A Visit From Fiddle

by Metool Bard

Hard to be Humble

"...And that should be everything," said Octavia as she concluded the tour of the apartment.

"Ah see. Well, thank you kindly, Tavia," said Fiddlesticks pleasantly.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," said Octavia. "So, can I get you anything?"

Fiddlesticks titled her head. "We jus' had breakfast, Tavia. Ah reckon Ah'm good."

"Oh, yes! Silly me," said Octavia with an awkward laugh. "Well, just so you know, if there's anything Vinyl or I can do..."

"Ah'll let ya know," said Fiddlesticks. "Right now, we've got some catchin' up to do."

"Oh, right. Yes," said Octavia. "Um, shall we retire to the living room, then?"

Fiddlesticks took a look around. "Ah, reckon we're already in the livin' room, Tavia."

"Huh. So we are," said Octavia, looking a bit embarrassed. "Uh, please, have a seat."

"Sure thing," said Fiddlesticks as she made herself comfortable on the couch. "So, tell me about DJ P0N-3. How'd you two end up bein' roommates?"

"Oh, Vinyl? Well, I'm not sure I want to talk about it," said Octavia, casting her eyes downward as she sat down herself. "It's a little embarrassing."

Fiddlesticks chuckled. "Tavia, Ah'm yer twin sister. Y'all can tell me. Ah won't laugh or nuttin'."

Octavia sighed. "Alright," she said. "Well, I actually met her at my second job."

Fiddlesticks raised an eyebrow. "Yer second job?"

"Yes, I forgot to mention," said Octavia sheepishly. "I also work as Vinyl's co-host over at K-COLT Radio. We do a sort of celebrity gossip show with music."

"Hmm," said Fiddlesticks with a nod. "Ah'm actually not into those sorts of things."

"I wasn't either when I started out," said Octavia. "But, as time went on, I grew to enjoy it. Besides, somepony has to keep Vinyl from setting the studio on fire."

Fiddlesticks snickered. "Ah take it she's always been a wild gal then?"

"More than you can imagine," said Octavia, her cheeks beginning to match her bow-tie. "I actually didn't like her at first. I found her to be obnoxious, tactless, and completely insane."

"Sounds to me like sumthin' changed," said Fiddlesticks, looking at Octavia with interest. "What happened?"

"W-well, I just got to know her better," said Octavia, twiddling her hooves. "She's still obnoxious, tactless, and completely insane; don't get me wrong. But, she's more than that. It's all a matter of looking in the right places."

Fiddlesticks's lips curled into a sly smirk. "Let me guess. Y'all are carryin' a torch for her."

Octavia's face turned bright scarlet as she stared at Fiddlesticks in disbelief. "Wh-what?! F-Fiddlesticks, th-that's private!" she stammered.

"Oh really? The tabloids don't think so."

Octavia whipped her head around to see Vinyl Scratch making her way into the conversation. Fiddlesticks stifled a laugh.

"Ah reckon Ah hit the nail on the head there," she said.

"You sure did," said Vinyl with a sly grin of her own. "Although I don't know why Tavi here is so embarrassed about it. We agreed long ago that it's nothing to be ashamed of, despite what the tabloids might think."

"V-Vinyl, this is not the sort of thing you just bring up out of the blue," said Octavia. "I-it's a delicate subject, and should be treated as such."

"Pfft. Delicate, shmelicate," said Fiddlesticks dismissively. "It's not like Ah'm askin' fer the graphic details or nuttin'."

"H-how can you even mention that so casually?" inquired Octavia.

"Ah already told ya, Tavia. Ah like ponies that speak their mind," said Fiddlesticks with a warm smile. "Look, DJ P0N-3's right. It ain't nuttin' to be all worked up about. Personally, Ah'm very happy for ya."

"Your sister speaks wisdom, Octy," Vinyl chimed in.

Octavia took a deep breath to center herself. "Y-you're both right," she said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't prepared for that."

"It's alright, Tavia. Y'all jus' gotta loosen up a little," said Fiddlesticks.

"Trust me, Fiddle. Tavi's more difficult to loosen than a rusted screw," said Vinyl. "But, that's not to say it's impossible."

"Vinyl, remember what we talked about," Octavia said tersely.

"What? All you said was not to be rude to your sis," said Vinyl with a shrug. "You didn't say anything about teasing you being off-limits."

Fiddlesticks snickered and shook her head. "Sweet Celestia, you two are funny," she said between chuckles. "Maybe Ah should give that gossip program a listen-to."

Octavia cleared her throat. "W-well, enough about me," she said hastily. "What about you, Fiddlesticks? How has life been treating you all this time?"

Fiddlesticks shrugged. "Ah suppose Ah can't complain. Ah've been a lot of places and met a lot of ponies. Sometimes it's hard to find work, but Ah get by."

"How so?" asked Octavia.

"Usually it involves sleepin' under the stars."

Octavia gasped. "Y-you sleep outside?"

"Not all the time. Jus' whenever it suits me," said Fiddlesticks nonchalantly.

"B-but you said you know a lot of ponies that are willing to help you."

"Hey, Ah ain't no moocher. Ah'd feel bad if Ah stayed at a pony's place without givin' them sumthin' for their trouble."

Vinyl opened her mouth to make a snarky comment, but quickly clammed up when she caught sight of Octavia's disapproving glare. The grey mare then turned back to her sister and sighed.

"Fiddlesticks, I-I don't know what to say," she murmured.

"Then don't say anythin'," said Fiddlesticks with a soft smile. "Y'know, you're a very lucky pony, Tavia. Y'all got yerself this swanky pad, two jobs ya care about, and a roommate who loves ya. Ah'd actually be kinda jealous if Ah felt Ah needed all of that. But the fact is Ah don't. Ah'm a simple pony with simple tastes, and that's the way Ah like it."

Octavia was silent for a time. She couldn't comprehend this. Even though Fiddlesticks was her twin sister, she felt like they were worlds apart. She couldn't accept that anypony would be content with not having a roof over their head. Finally, she spoke up.

"Fiddlesticks, are you absolutely sure you don't want to sleep in our bed?" she asked.

Fiddlesticks smiled. "We've been over this, Tavia. The couch is plenty comfy."

"Yeah, Octy. Let her sleep where she wants," said Vinyl.

"Right, fine," said Octavia. "But just so you know, the offer's still on the table."

"In what universe?!" exclaimed Vinyl, placing her hooves on her hips.

Fiddlesticks gave a modest chuckle. "Honestly, Tavia. Ah'll be okay. Now, if ya don't mind, Ah reckon mah fiddle is due fer some tunin'."

"Oh. Okay," said Octavia. "Just be sure to let us know if you need anything."

"Will do," said Fiddlesticks, taking out her fiddle and adjusting the strings. Meanwhile, Vinyl pulled Octavia aside.

"Tavi, maybe I'm out of line for asking this, but what in the name of Celestia are you thinking?!" she hissed.

"Vinyl, Fiddlesticks is not only our guest, she's my sister," Octavia said in a harsh whisper. "It's not right that she has such a hard life. We need to make her visit as comfortable and hospitable as possible."

"I'm all for that, but I am not giving up the bed," Vinyl growled. "That wasn't part of our deal."

"I'm not having this discussion with you, Vinyl," said Octavia firmly. "I know it's hard, but I also know that you're capable of it. So think about ponies other than yourself for a change."

Before Vinyl could say anything else, Octavia went back to the living room. Vinyl sighed and shook her head.

FYI, I am thinking about a pony other than myself, she responded mentally. I'm thinking about you. And honestly, I don't think Fiddle and I need to drive you nuts. You seem to be doing that just fine on your own...

Comments

[CWi]

*logs on to FiMFiction after school, looks at feed*

*Squees when seeing that this has been updated*